Putin humiliated as botched 'nuclear' missile test explodes into purple smoke

Plumes of purple smoke were seen rising above the base (Image: X social media)

A Russian missile exploded at a military base, sending plumes of purple smoke skywards, according to local residents. It is believed that the explosion was caused by an unsuccessful missile launch, which disintegrated shortly after it was fired.

Local authorities have not commented on the incident and there are reportedly no plans to evacuate people from the area. The incicednt occured in Yasny, Orenburg region, which hosts a cosmodrome and a missile forces base. It is one of 11 sites in the Russia from which ground-based long-range missile launches can be carried out, including those equipped with nuclear warheads.

The base is believed to be equipped with the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle, one of Russia’s most advanced nuclear delivery systems.

Images posted to social media channels show a thick purple-tinged cloud of smoking rising skywards.

Details of the Strategic Missile Forces bases in Yasny were acquired by the German magazine Der Spiegel and the Danish investigative outlet Danwatch.

The information was contained in over 2 million government files that were found in a public database. They shed light on Russia’s expansion and modernisation of its highly sensitive nuclear weapons complex.

The documents show how numerous nuclear facilities - including those in Yasny - were torn down and rebuilt with upgraded infrastructure over the past decade

“Until now, we have only been able to monitor these bases from above using satellite imagery,” Hans M. Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, told Danwatch and Der Spiegel.

“Now, with the help of these unique drawings, we can now for the first time get inside the buildings and all the way underground. It’s completely unprecedented.”

Russia is seeking to expand its nuclear arsenal, which is the largest in the world. The Kremlin has reportedly ordered a batch of 56 Kalibr missiles armed with nuclear warheads, according to leaked Kremlin documents.

Procurement papers obtained by the Ukrainian defence magazine Militarnyi show the Kremlin placed a contract with the Russian Research and Design Bureau Novator for 56 3M-14S Kalibr missiles with "a special warhead" (i.e. nuclear).

The order specifies that the missiles will be delivered over a two year timeframe that runs from 2024 until 2026.